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Decorated Halloween Cookies in the shapes of ghosts, pumpkins, candy corns, cauldrons and spider webs.
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5 from 10 votes

Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe

These adorable Halloween cookies are a perfect treat this spooky season! A simple cookie recipe topped with tasty royal icing, they're so fun to decorate and eat!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time7 minutes
Cooling Time30 minutes
Total Time57 minutes
Course: cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Halloween Cookies
Servings: 20
Calories: 269kcal
Author: Heidi Rasmussen
Cost: 8

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup flour for rolling out the dough
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Meringue powder
  • 1/3 cup water

Instructions

For the Halloween Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
    Combine sugar, powdered sugar, butter, and shortening in a stand mixer. Mix until well combined.
    Bowl of creamed butter, shortening and sugars for Halloween Cookie dough.
  • Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until combined.
    Mixing bowl with wet ingredients mixed to make Halloween Cookies.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture a little at a time. Mix until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a soft ball when pressed together.
    Ball of sugar cookie dough in a mixing bowl to make Halloween Cookies.
  • Remove dough from the bowl and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface (about 1/4 cup flour). Roll out to 3/8-inch thickness (see notes above).
    Rolled out cookie dough with a wooden rolling pin for Halloween Cookies.
  • Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
    Cut out shapes of candy corn and cauldrons to make Halloween Cookies.
  • Bake cookies on a lined baking sheet for 7 minutes (6 minutes for smaller cookies). Remove cookies from the pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
    Unbaked cut out Halloween shaped Cookies on a Cookie sheet.
  • After the cookies have completely cooled, they are ready for decorating (see notes above).
    Close up of a baked sugar cookie shaped like a pumpkin for Halloween Cookies.

For the Royal Icing

  • Combine all the ingredients in the stand mixer and let it whisk on high for 3 minutes scraping the sides as needed.
    Whisk holding freshly whipped Royal Icing with a stiff peak to make Halloween Cookies.
  • Use gel food coloring for desired colors. (*See Recipe Notes)

Notes

*For step by step instructions to make the best royal icing, check out our Royal Icing Recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 166IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg